Chapter XI.

Conclusion

We have now capped the climax of the Marxian argument, roofed the edifice of his theoretical structure, and it stands before our eyes a finished whole— a monument of the greatest thinker of the Nineteenth Century and a beacon-light to struggling humanity. It is not the magnificence of the structure, however, that interests us most, (for it is not our task to extol the personal merit and genius of Marx), but the character of this structure, the relation of its parts to the whole. We stated early in our discussion that the Marxian theoretical system is one solid structure and cannot be properly understood unless viewed as a whole; that it must be examined as a whole, and accepted or rejected in its entirety. We hope that we have succeeded in proving at least that proposition. Whatever our judgment may be as to the merits of the Marxian theoretical system, one thing we hope to have established beyond the possibility of a doubt: like the stones under the head of Jacob, so have the different elements which go to make up the Marxian system been welded by superior power into one whole. From the explanation of the hoary past, through the appreciation of the contending forces of the present, to the vision of the rising sun of the future— from the preface to Zur Kritik, declaring the laws of the historical march of civilization, through the intricacies and subtleties of the laws of value governing the capitalist system, to the sounding of the bells ringing out the old and decrepit capitalist system and ringing in the new and vigorous socialist society— the whole of the grandiose structure reared by Marx is hewn from one stone. Its foundations lie in the past, its frame work embraces the present, and its lofty tower pierces the future.

Marx's socialism is neither the result solely of his hatred of the oppressors and love for the oppressed of the present social system, nor is it the dream-like construction of his fervid imagination; it is the logical conclusion of his reading of the past and his understanding of the present of our civilization. It is equally absurd to say, with Prof. Seligman, that Marx's interpretation of history has nothing to do with his socialism, as it is to say, with Bernstein, that it is immaterial to Marx's socialist predictions whether his theory of value be sound or not. We have seen the correctness of Marx's interpretation of history; we have seen the correctness and the precision of his analysis of the workings of the capitalist system; and we have seen, above all, the irresistible manner in which his socialist conclusions flow from those premises, and the absolute necessity of those premises for his socialist conclusions. We have seen, in fine, what a great light the contemplation of the whole sheds upon each and every part thereof. But even should the reader disagree with us on that, he surely cannot deny the justice of our claim that he can accept the Marxian system as a whole or leave it as a whole, but he cannot take part of it, and leave the rest, and above all he cannot take the conclusions without admitting the premises.

Last updated on 23 September 2022